3/22/2023 0 Comments Change my mind memeThe T ribune honours, recognizes and respects these nations as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters.James McGill, our university’s namesake, rose to power, property, and fortune, off of colonial trade and his enslavement of at least two Indigenous children, and three people of African descent. The McGill Tribune is situated on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Kanien’kehà:ka a place which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst many First Nations, including the Kanien’kehá:ka of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Huron/Wendat, Abenaki, and Anishinaabeg, among others. In the meantime, it’s much more fun to collectively laugh at them. Perhaps the administration should pay more attention to these outlets, and address the concerns they raise. Ultimately, memes offer more than just a humourous outlet to scroll through between classes: They speak to students’ concerns and frustrations with the McGill administration, and because of this are an important tool to understand the opinions and interests of the student body. Included among these memes was a single image with a direct message: “This is Ollivier Dyens…Don’t let him get re-elected.” During the recent SSMU president elections, former candidate Corinne Bulger stated in an interview with the The McGill Tribune that “meme culture can be used as a really powerful tool to hold our admin accountable, especially in such a public forum.”Ī direct example of Bulger’s remarks can be seen in one McGill student Instagram account, which published a flurry of memes following Dyens’ “hygiene de vie” gaffe. While many memes posted in student-run Instagram accounts are purely for comedic purposes, they also can serve a more politically-engaged purpose. In turn, it fuelled an abundance of meme posts across various Instagram pages, all featuring sarcastic commentary on the statement, allowing students to air their grievances. Satirically reinterpreting Crowder’s Change My Mind table into something relevant to the McGill student is not only humourous, but taps into the communication gap on campus between the administration and the student body.įor example, the Deputy Provost of Student Life and Learning Ollivier Dyens’ notorious suggestion that students practice good “hygiene de vie” to cope with mental health challenges quickly went viral. Amid general frustrations with the construction in the city of Montreal and annoyance at the administration-who once advised students to just “keep calm and carry on” despite the dangerous obstacles-memes are the cathartic release students need. One only needs to recall Winter 2017’s treacherous narrow metal staircase in front of the Brown building. Roadblocks have posed many difficulties for individuals with injuries or mobility impairments and local businesses, making it an especially salient topic for students. McTavish Street has undergone construction numerous times in the last four years. This general frustration among McGill students also extends to physical hindrances to their experience that include the seemingly never-ending McTavish construction. Student-run meme pages allow them a space to co-ruminate about this gap: It often feels like McGill is not listening to them, not meeting their needs, and falling short in providing adequate essential services, like mental health support. Take, for example, the Change My Mind meme posted by the Instagram account where Crowder’s head has been replaced with McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier’s, and his sign photo-shopped to read, “McTavish could still be improved a little bit: change my mind.” Satirically reinterpreting Crowder’s Change My Mind table into something relevant to the McGill student is not only humourous, but taps into the communication gap on campus between the administration and the student body. With the emergence of several McGill meme Instagram accounts in the last few years, McGill students have been adapting popular meme templates to create student-relevant content. These include statements like: “ ratatouille would beat stuart little’s ass in a fight: change my mind ,” or “ pop tarts are ravioli: change my mind. Despite the gravity of the discourse Crowder provokes, the perceived outlandishness of his views by a fairly liberal young population on campus led to an online parody of his segment. The “Change My Mind” meme emerged this past February, when a conservative commentator named Steven Crowder set up a table outside the campus of Texas Christian University with a sign reading “Male privilege is a myth, change my mind.” Crowder has a YouTube page and a podcast where he frequently engages others in discussions on controversial topics ranging from a woman’s right to an abortion to gender politics.
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